Nov 23 Mold me, make me holy

Father, You gave Ezekiel a recap of the physical sacrifices that were to be offered to You, when and where and how in specific detail.  For You are a Holy God and the offerings and sacrifices provided atonement and consecration for Your people then.

Now comes Peter writing to remind believers that now they “are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices…”

The Israelites had to go to a specific place, the Temple, and have their sacrifices presented by priests.

But now believers’ bodies are the “temple” and believers, themselves, are the priests.  And the sacrifices offered are the spiritual sacrifices of praise, and a contrite heart.

You are Holy because of who You are.  But believers are made holy not by the sacrifices of goats and lambs with flour and oil; but “with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”  Believers “purify yourselves by obeying the truth…born again…through the living and enduring Word of God.”

Further, Peter tells me to be holy in all I do: to “prepare [my] mind for action; be self-controlled.”   And “as an obedient child, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.”  “Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind.”

How do I do this?

Psalm 119 answers this, and so it has become my prayer.  “Teach me, O Lord, to follow Your decrees; then I will keep them to the end.  Give me understanding and I will keep Your law and obey it with all my heart.  Direct me in the path of Your commands; for there I find delight. 

Turn my heart toward Your statues and not toward selfish gain.  Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your Word.”

Father, let me live and walk and worship according to these Words.  Let me be taught by You.  Break down whatever habits or tendencies I have that war against Your precepts or keep me from following Your path wholeheartedly. 

Enrich me through Your unfailing love.  I lift my hands to You.  Amen

Ezekiel 45:13-46:24; I Peter 1:13-2:10; Psalm 119:33-40

Aug 24 Raised Indestructible!

“Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow he does not endure.”

“Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.  You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of years is as nothing before You.  Each man’s life is but a breath.” 

Lord, today is the anniversary of my grandmother’s death.  My own father’s passing is still fresh in my memory.  Friends have lost loved ones to Covid adding to the toll of over 1 million in our nation. And personally, I’ve survived my own “wake up call” cancer diagnosis and now await a kidney donor.

All around me is the evidence of how fragile life is.  How quickly it passes.  I often feel that the days sometimes drag on, but the years fly by.  I thought the days of changing diapers and wiping faces would never end.  Now in their thirties, I wonder how my children got to be so grown; how I got to be so old.

“But now Lord, what do I look for?  My hope is in You.”  

I have confidence that because of Your power, authority, and sovereignty, no one, not any power or circumstance, can take away even a single minute of life that has been ordained by You.  “Man’s days are determined; You have decreed the number of his months and have set the limits he cannot exceed.”

Father, I know there are many things I cannot grasp while here on earth.  But I love the picture You give us of resurrection.

When I plant a seed in the ground, it doesn’t look like what will come up.  A tomato seed does not look like a tomato or the plant it grows on.  Neither does a pumpkin seed, or a carrot seed, or an apple seed, or a peach pit.  So my earthly body is like the seed.  And my heavenly body is like the plant that springs from it. 

My earthly body is fragile, but I will be raised with You indestructible!   I live in weakness and with embarrassment, but I will return with You in power and with glory!

Because I look to You for my eternal future, there is no fear, because Yours is the victory!  “Death has been swallowed up in victory.  Where, O death is your victory?  Where, O death is your sting?”   Thanks be to You!  You have given me victory through my Lord Jesus Christ!”  Amen

Job 14:1-5; I Corinthians 15:35-58; Psalm 39:4-7

July 18 Order from Chaos

Father, for the last several chapters, You have shown me how David and his commanders allotted all the jobs that needed to be done, to the Israelites.

There was a job for every person and a person for every job.  From the priestly duties in the Temple concerning worship, to defending the people and guarding the gates in the wall around Jerusalem.  There were people who took care of all the building and supplies, all the flocks and herds, and all the king’s business.

It reminds me that You are a God of order, not chaos.

I usually start off my day with a plan of order.  But You know all too well how many times those plans have dissolved into chaos.  My house starts out in order.  Then life happens, and chaos takes over.  Sometimes it takes an unexpected emergency like water in the basement or some planned entertaining activity to motivate the family into cleaning up again and putting things back in order weeks after the chaos has taken over.

I marvel at how You know humans so well, and give us what we need.  You know that I need order.

You created this world with painstaking care.  Every planet in the solar system is ordered.  The geology of the planet earth is stable enough that I don’t see mountains from my window one day and valleys the next.

The seasons change, giving us variety in weather patterns, but the seasons always come in the same order.

And the human body is amazingly organized, down to the pattern of neurons in our central nervous system and brain; and the arteries and veins that carry blood.

So I get the benefit and security of knowing that night always follows day; Summer always follows Spring.  Thank You for knowing me so well and what I need to feel safe and secure in the world.

Thank You for going to such great lengths in creating this beautiful planet; with its specific gravity, air pressure, radiation levels, temperature, and path through the solar system, to provide stability to sustain my life.  Thank You for the constancy I see repeated in the cycles: sprouting, growth, maturity, fruitfulness, harvest, hibernation, rebirth.

When chaos increases in my life, it’s a signal I need to spend more time with You.

Help me be more organized.  Remind me I need to be consistent in devoting time to You. Show me how to set right priorities.   And how to stick to them.   Thank You for Your loving help.  Amen

I Chronicles 23:1-27:34

Nov 23 Mold me, make me holy

Father, You gave Ezekiel a recap of the physical sacrifices that were to be offered to You, when and where and how in specific detail.  For You are a Holy God and the offerings and sacrifices provided atonement and consecration for Your people then.

Now comes Peter writing to remind believers that now they “are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices…”

The Israelites had to go to a specific place, the Temple, and have their sacrifices presented by priests.

But now believers’ bodies are the “temple” and believers, themselves, are the priests.  And the sacrifices offered are the spiritual sacrifices of praise, and a contrite heart.

You are Holy because of who You are.  But believers are made holy not by the sacrifices of goats and lambs with flour and oil; but “with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”  Believers “purify yourselves by obeying the truth…born again…through the living and enduring Word of God.”

Further, Peter tells me to be holy in all I do: to “prepare [my] mind for action; be self-controlled.”   And “as an obedient child, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.”  “Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind.”

How do I do this?

Psalm 119 answers this, and so it has become my prayer.  “Teach me, O Lord, to follow Your decrees; then I will keep them to the end.  Give me understanding and I will keep Your law and obey it with all my heart.  Direct me in the path of Your commands; for there I find delight. 

Turn my heart toward Your statues and not toward selfish gain.  Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your Word.”

Father, let me live and walk and worship according to these Words.  Let me be taught by You.  Break down whatever habits or tendencies I have that war against Your precepts or keep me from following Your path wholeheartedly. 

Enrich me through Your unfailing love.  I lift my hands to You.  Amen

Ezekiel 45:13-46:24; I Peter 1:13-2:10; Psalm 119:33-40

Aug 24 Raised Indestructible

“Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow he does not endure.”

“Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.  You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of years is as nothing before You.  Each man’s life is but a breath.”

Lord, today is the anniversary of my grandmother’s death.  My own father’s passing still fresh in my memory.  Two friends lost family members to Coronavirus this month adding to the toll of over 630,000 in our nation. And personally, I’ve received my own “wake up call” cancer diagnosis and now await a kidney donor.

All around me is the evidence of how fragile life is.  How quickly it passes.  I often feel that the days sometimes drag on, but the years fly by.   I thought the days of changing diapers and wiping faces would never end.  Now in their thirties, I wonder how my children got to be so grown; how I got to be so old.

“But now Lord, what do I look for?  My hope is in You.”  

I have confidence that because of Your power, authority, and sovereignty, no one, not any power or circumstance, can take away even a single minute of life that has been ordained by You.  “Man’s days are determined; You have decreed the number of his months and have set the limits he cannot exceed.”

Father, I know there are many things I cannot grasp while here on earth.  But I love the picture You give us of resurrection.

When I plant a seed in the ground, it doesn’t look like what will come up.  A tomato seed does not look like a tomato or the plant it grows on.  Neither does a pumpkin seed, or a carrot seed, or an apple seed, or a peach pit.  So my earthly body is like the seed.  And my heavenly body is like the plant that springs from it. 

My earthly body is fragile, but I will be raised with You indestructible!   I live in weakness and with embarrassment, but I will return with You in power and with glory!

Because I look to You for my eternal future, there is no fear, because Yours is the victory!  “Death has been swallowed up in victory.  Where, O death is your victory?  Where, O death is your sting?”   Thanks be to You!  You have given me victory through my Lord Jesus Christ!”  Amen

Job 14:1-5; I Corinthians 15:35-58; Psalm 39:4-7

July 18 Order from Chaos

Father, for the last several chapters, You have shown me how David and his commanders allotted all the jobs that needed to be done, to the Israelites.

There was a job for every person and a person for every job.  From the priestly duties in the Temple concerning worship, to defending the people and guarding the gates in the wall around Jerusalem.  There were people who took care of all the building and supplies, all the flocks and herds, and all the king’s business.

It reminds me that You are a God of order, not chaos.

I usually start off my day with a plan of order.  But You know all too well how many times those plans have dissolved into chaos.  My house starts out in order.  Then life happens, and chaos takes over.  Sometimes it takes an unexpected emergency like water in the basement or some planned entertaining activity to motivate the family into cleaning up again and putting things back in order weeks after the chaos has taken over.

I marvel at how You know humans so well, and give us what we need.  You know that I need order.

You created this world with painstaking care.  Every planet in the solar system is ordered.  The geology of the planet earth is stable enough that I don’t see mountains from my window one day and valleys the next.

The seasons change, giving us variety in weather patterns, but the seasons always come in the same order.

And the human body is amazingly organized, down to the pattern of neurons in our central nervous system and brain; and the arteries and veins that carry blood.

So I get the benefit and security of knowing that night always follows day; Summer always follows Spring.  Thank You for knowing me so well and what I need to feel safe and secure in the world.

Thank You for going to such great lengths in creating this beautiful planet; with its specific gravity, air pressure, radiation levels, temperature, and path through the solar system, to provide stability to sustain my life.  Thank You for the constancy I see repeated in the cycles: sprouting, growth, maturity, fruitfulness, harvest, hibernation, rebirth.

When chaos increases in my life, it’s a signal I need to spend more time with You.

Help me be more organized.  Remind me I need to be consistent in devoting time to You. Show me how to set right priorities.   And how to stick to them.   Thank You for Your loving help.  Amen

I Chronicles 23:1-27:34

Aug 24 Raised Indestructible

“Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow he does not endure.” 

“Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.  You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of years is as nothing before You.  Each man’s life is but a breath.” 

Lord, today is the anniversary of my grandmother’s death.  Family funerals seem to abound, with my own father’s passing still fresh in my memory.  Corona virus has taken more lives in just 7 months since the pandemic in 1918.  And 2 years ago today I received my own personal “wake up call” cancer diagnosis and now await a kidney donor.

All around me is the evidence of how fragile life is.  How quickly it passes.  I often feel that the days sometimes drag on, but the years fly by.   I thought the days of changing diapers and wiping faces would never end.  Now in their thirties, I wonder how my children got to be so grown; how I got to be so old.

“But now Lord, what do I look for?  My hope is in You.”  

I have confidence that because of Your power, authority, and sovereignty, no one, not any power or circumstance, can take away even a single minute of life that has been ordained by You.  “Man’s days are determined; You have decreed the number of his months and have set the limits he cannot exceed.”

Father, I know there are many things I cannot grasp while here on earth.  But I love the picture You give us of resurrection.

When I plant a seed in the ground, it doesn’t look like what will come up.  A tomato seed does not look like a tomato or the plant it grows on.  Neither does a pumpkin seed, or a carrot seed, or an apple seed, or a peach pit.  So my earthly body is like the seed.  And my heavenly body is like the plant that springs from it.

My earthly body is fragile, but I will be raised with You indestructible!   I live in weakness and with embarrassment, but I will return with You in power and with glory!

Because I look to You for my eternal future, there is no fear, because Yours is the victory!  “Death has been swallowed up in victory.  Where, O death is your victory?  Where, O death is your sting?”   Thanks be to You!  You have given me victory through my Lord Jesus Christ!”  Amen

Job 14:1-5; I Corinthians 15:35-58; Psalm 39:4-7

July 18 Order from Chaos

Father, for the last several chapters, You have shown me how David and his commanders allotted all the jobs that needed to be done, to the Israelites.

There was a job for every person and a person for every job.  From the priestly duties in the Temple concerning worship, to defending the people and guarding the gates in the wall around Jerusalem.  There were people who took care of all the building and supplies, all the flocks and herds, and all the king’s business.

It reminds me that You are a God of order, not chaos.

I usually start off my day with a plan of order.  But You know all too well how many times those plans have dissolved into chaos.  My house starts out in order.  Then life happens, and chaos takes over.  Sometimes it takes an unexpected emergency like water in the basement or some planned entertaining activity to motivate the family into cleaning up again and putting things back in order weeks after the chaos has taken over.

I marvel at how You know humans so well, and give us what we need.  You know that I need order.

You created this world with painstaking care.  Every planet in the solar system is ordered.  The geology of the planet earth is stable enough that I don’t see mountains from my window one day and valleys the next.

The seasons change, giving us variety in weather patterns, but the seasons always come in the same order.

And the human body is amazingly organized, down to the pattern of neurons in our central nervous system and brain; and the arteries and veins that carry blood.

So I get the benefit and security of knowing that night always follows day; Summer always follows Spring.  Thank You for knowing me so well and what I need to feel safe and secure in the world.

Thank You for going to such great lengths in creating this beautiful planet; with its specific gravity, air pressure, radiation levels, temperature, and path through the solar system, to provide stability to sustain my life.  Thank You for the constancy I see repeated in the cycles: sprouting, growth, maturity, fruitfulness, harvest, hibernation, rebirth.

When chaos increases in my life, it’s a signal I need to spend more time with You.

Help me be more organized.  Remind me I need to be consistent in devoting time to You. Show me how to set right priorities.   And how to stick to them.   Thank You for Your loving help.  Amen

I Chronicles 23:1-27:34

Oct 6 Your Word is my path

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Father, destruction was coming and You instructed Your people with this verse.

Yet they did not obey or follow You.  Do not let me reject Your wisdom.  Today I stand seeking.  I look to You to guide and direct my thoughts.  Show me the way to go. Help me be steadfast to walk in Your way.

I trust Your leading.  Even if it is not the “popular” path.  Or the one that seems “logical” at the time.  Or the “easiest” one that seems to be clear of obstacles.  Give me strength to be obedient to what I hear You saying.

Paul said it this way:  “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”

There are many followings today, many belief systems that are portrayed in the media as right and credible.  Do not let me be misled by these false, socially acceptable representations.  You have taught me the truth.  And I have aligned myself with You by faith, by public profession, by baptism and by the way I choose to live.

Just as false religions lead me away from You, so do the attitudes that would bind me to legalistic practices that come from man.  Such rules and regulations that many keep, and look down on those who do not, are just as damaging.  Their obedience is based on human commands and teachings of men’s interpretation.

Believers are Your Body.  And when the members of Your Body obey only each other, they have lost connection with You, their Head.

Bottom line Lord: let me hear Your voice, and obey what You tell me.  Let me truly live my life for an Audience of One.  You.  Amen

Jeremiah 6:16-21; Colossians 2:8-23

 

Sept 25 Unity and Maturity

Father, the words Paul writes to the Ephesians become my prayer today:

Help me “live a life worthy of the calling I have received.”  Help me understand the life You have called me to.

In dealing with others, help me be less self-centered and more God-centered in the way I treat people, make decisions, and respond to circumstances.

Every day, let me ask: “Am I living the life You died to give me?”

Toward that end, help me be “humble and gentle.”  Show me how to walk away from pride, arrogance, conceitedness, and that attitude of superiority that so easily entangles me.

Teach me to “be patient” and treat people with love.  When I am frustrated, let me bring that to You so You can disarm it before it becomes anger and resentment.

Father, with so many people who call themselves by Your Name, there will be differences.  Help me see past the differences that don’t matter in order to support the unifying beliefs that do make a difference.

Help me use the gifts You have given me, spiritual and otherwise, to build up Your body of believers, so that we all become a mature, complete body with You as the head.

Then I will no longer be “tossed back and forth by the waves, blown here and there by … the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.”  Help me become so familiar with Your Word that I recognize the crafty, deceitful teachings of the world.

Bless me as I make time to read and study Your Word, Your love letter to me.  Reveal its meaning and show me how to apply Your wisdom to my life.

Thank You Father, that Your Word is true.  That it teaches. That it encourages.  And guides.  And comforts.  And helps me grow more and more in step with You.  Amen

Ephesians 4:1-16

Aug 24 Raised Indestructible

“Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow he does not endure.

“Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.  You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of years is as nothing before You.  Each man’s life is but a breath.” 

Lord, today is the anniversary of my grandmother’s death.  Family funerals seem to abound, with my own father’s passing still fresh in my memory. A dear friend and mentor who battled cancer three times is now with You as well.  And a year ago today I received my own personal “wake up call” diagnosis.

All around me is the evidence of how fragile life is.  How quickly it passes.  I often that the days sometimes drag on, but the years fly by.   I thought the days of changing diapers and wiping faces would never end.  Now in their thirties, I wonder how my children got to be so grown; how I got to be so old.

“But now Lord, what do I look for?  My hope is in You.”  

I have confidence that because of Your power, authority, and sovereignty, no one, not any power or circumstance, can take away even a single minute of life that has been ordained by You.  “Man’s days are determined; You have decreed the number of his months and have set the limits he cannot exceed.”

Father, I know there are many things I cannot grasp while here on earth.  But I love the picture You give us of resurrection.

When I plant a seed in the ground, it doesn’t look like what will come up.  A tomato seed does not look like a tomato or the plant it grows on.  Neither does a pumpkin seed, or a carrot seed, or an apple seed, or a peach pit.  So my earthly body is like the seed.  And my heavenly body is like the plant that springs from it.

My earthly body is fragile, but I will be raised with You indestructible!   I live in weakness and with embarrassment, but I will return with You in power and with glory!

Because I look to You for my eternal future, there is no fear, because Yours is the victory!  “Death has been swallowed up in victory.  Where, O death is your victory?  Where, O death is your sting?”   Thanks be to You!  You have given me victory through my Lord Jesus Christ!”  Amen

Job 14:1-5; I Corinthians 15:35-58; Psalm 39:4-7

Nov 13 I am in awe

Father, the city and leaders and people of Tyre had everything worldly possible to bring them success in material possessions and reputation.  Yet, they fell.

They took pride in their commerce and accomplishments and that pride kept them from worshipping You.  They saw themselves as gods.  And Your judgment fell on them.

Lord, do not let me think more highly of myself than I ought.   Thank You for Your example of being a humble servant.   As I try to follow Your example, if I ever think too much of myself, refocus me on Your greatness.

Psalm 111 reminds me that ”Great are the works of the Lord…glorious and majestic are His deeds.”   When I ponder all of creation, I am amazed by Your imagination!  I am captivated by the diversity in size and color and design!  I am overwhelmed by the power of Your mountains and seas and winds.

I love seeing pictures of majestic waterfalls, lush green jungles with brightly colored birds, schools of shiny fish swimming in the sea, brilliant flowers, water-colored sunsets.  All this is just a part of what You do.

Besides creating and sustaining all this, You have created the intricacies of each human body: from the tiniest of cells to the diversity of faces and fingerprints!

And not just bodies, but You know the mind and spirit of each individual on the planet.   You’re indescribable – uncontainable – unfathomable!  You blow my mind!

And a wondrous part of who You are is that You do not just set all this in motion and then sit back to see where it goes. You involve Yourself in the life of each of Your precious creations.   You speak, protect, provide, lead, feed, forgive, save.  And all that You do is just and right.

You have provided these later generations with Your written Word.   It teaches Your truth and Your character so all can know You, and Your faithfulness, Your uprightness and Your salvation.

You say “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”   The Hebrew word “yare” translated as “fear” here, is used in this sentence referring to a person in an exalted position: You.  Thus, the meaning includes a reverence, a standing in awe, whereby the individual recognizes the power and position, and renders the proper respect.

Father, I acknowledge Your power, Your sovereignty; and give You all honor and praise!  Let me continue to grow in wisdom.

How great and awesome You are!  “To You belongs eternal praise.”  Amen

Ezekiel 27:1-28:19; Psalm 111:1-10

Aug 24 Raised Indestructible

“Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow he does not endure.”

“Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of years is as nothing before You. Each man’s life is but a breath.”

Lord, today is the anniversary of my grandmother’s death. Family funerals seem to abound, with my own father’s passing still fresh in my memory. A dear friend and mentor who battled cancer three times is now with You as well. And today I received my own personal “wake up call” diagnosis.

All around me is the evidence of how fragile life is. How fleeting it seems. How quickly it passes. I say all the time that the days sometimes drag on, but the years fly by.   Father, You know I thought the days of changing diapers and wiping faces would never end. Now in their thirties, I wonder how my children got to be so grown; how I got to be so old.

“But now Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in You.”  

I have confidence You are in control. And because of Your power and authority and sovereignty, no one, not any power or circumstance, can take away even a single minute of life that has been ordained by You. “Man’s days are determined; You have decreed the number of his months and have set the limits he cannot exceed.”

Father, I know there are many things I cannot grasp while here on earth. But I love the picture You give of how I will be raised.

When I plant a seed in the ground, it does not look like what will come up. A tomato seed does not look like a tomato or the plant it grows on. Neither does a pumpkin seed, or a carrot seed, or an apple seed, or a peach pit. So my earthly body is like the seed. And my heavenly body is like the plant that springs from it.

My earthly body is fragile, but I will be raised with You indestructible!   I live in weakness and with embarrassment, but I will return with You in power and with glory!

Because I look to You for my eternal future, there is no fear, because Yours is the victory! “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?”   Thanks be to You! You have given me victory through my Lord Jesus Christ!” Amen

Job 14:1-5; I Corinthians 15:29-58; Psalm 39:1-7

Aug 3 Your Word changes my heart

Oh Father. Today in Your Word, I am told that while “the men did their work faithfully” at the orders of twenty-six year old King Josiah, they “found the Book of the Law in the Temple of the Lord.” It had been lost, ignored throughout the eighteen years Josiah had been king, and during the reign of his evil father.

 

When it was brought before the young king, he heard the Word of the Law and his heart was responsive as he understood its meaning. He humbled himself before You and sought Your will.

 

Lord, I wonder if today, Your Word has again gotten “lost in the house of the Lord?“ The church is Your house, and it has Your Word, yet are they ignoring it? Are they teaching it to their people? Or do they pick and choose what they like and go on with their lives as they want.

Father, I pray that Your believers, Your church, will once again ‘hear’ Your Word. And that they would understand what they read with a responsive heart. Father, let them see where “they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book”. And be humbled and change where they are not doing all You command.

I also understand that my body is Your ‘temple’.   Don’t let Your Word be lost in me! Open my ears to truly “hear” all that Your Word says. Even the parts that may not sit easily with me. Even the parts I wish I didn’t have to obey. Make my heart responsive to what I hear from You. Let me be like Josiah, and be humbled and weep before You when I see where I have not been obedient.

Show me how to live by Your Word, with a heart that is responsive, humbled, by what I have heard. Amen

2 Chronicles 34:1-33

July 13 Creation Speaks

Father, I have heard many stories of how missionaries would go into a place no ‘civilized’ man had been before, and the native people already knew of You. They had a name for You. They knew Your character. And that You are the One True God who created and rules the universe.

Even if they had never seen a Bible, a preacher, or watched the “Jesus” film, they already knew of Your love and Your sacrifice for them and their sin. They understood their need of a Savior to be in restored relationship with You.

When I read Romans, it becomes clear that this is part of Your plan. You are not dependent on modern methods to spread Your Gospel, the Good News.

When I first saw “Jesus Christ Superstar”, I resonated with the line in the song “if You’d come today You could have reached a whole nation. Israel in 4BC had no mass communication”.   Meaning that if You had waited, You could have had world wide coverage of the event. Practically everyone in the world could have watched Your birth, life, death and resurrection on CNN or a televised reality show. But that wasn’t Your plan.

Paul writes such long and wordy sentences that it’s sometimes hard to follow. But I’m understanding from him that it is not in Your character to judge someone who is unaware of who You are. So to be just, You have given everyone the knowledge of truth. Paul is saying that You are judging people who know You but intentionally suppress the truth of who You are.

They know this, because You have made it plainly clear to them. Ever since You created the world, You used that creation to display and clearly reveal Your eternal power and Divine Nature. That means man is without excuse! There is no reason, when seeing this world and all that’s in it, anyone could deny Your existence, Your character, or Your power.

Thank You for reaching every person with an understanding of who You are. Thank You for showing me so much of Your amazing creation.

I have seen Your majesty in the Rocky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, vast oceans, wooded valleys, mighty rushing rivers, wide meadows, sand filled deserts. I have seen Your imaginative beauty in dazzlingly colorful sunrises and sunsets, fields of vibrantly colored flowers, and in the eyes and smiles of people of all colors.

I have watched Your mighty power in thunderheads building, lightening storms flashing, tornadoes whirling, waves crashing. Your spectacular creativity is displayed in the vivid and delicate colors of nature – especially in birds and bugs. Your dizzying workings are seen in the intricacies of tree roots and human nervous and circulatory systems.

Thank You that You have made Yourself evident. And for the unimaginably beautiful and amazing way You have done it. Amen

Romans 1:18-20

Sept 25 Unity and Maturity

Father, the words Paul writes to the Ephesians become my prayer today. Help me “live a life worthy of the calling I have received.” Help me understand the life You have called me to. In dealing with others, help me be less self-centered and more God-centered in the way I treat people, make decisions, and respond to circumstances.

Every day, let me ask: ‘Am I living the life You died to give me?’

Toward that end, help me be “humble and gentle”. Show me how to walk away from pride, arrogance, conceitedness, and that attitude of superiority that so easily entangles me. Teach me to “be patient”, and treat people with love. When I am frustrated, let me bring that to You so You can disarm it before it becomes anger and resentment.

Father, with so many people who call themselves by Your Name, there will be differences. Help me to see past the differences that don’t matter in order to support the unifying beliefs that do make a difference. Help me use the gifts You have given me, spiritual and otherwise, to build up Your body, believers, so that we all become a mature, complete body with You as the head.

Then I will no longer be “tossed back and forth by the waves, blown here and there by … the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.” Help me become so familiar with Your Word that I recognize the crafty, deceitful teachings of the world. Bless me as I make time to read and study Your Word, Your love letter to me. Reveal its meaning and show me how to apply Your wisdom to my life.

Thank You Father, that Your Word is true. That it teaches. That it encourages. And guides. And comforts. And helps me grow more and more in step with You. Amen

Ephesians 4:1-16

 

Sept 24 Strengthen me

“O Lord, out of Your glorious riches, would You strengthen me with the power through Your Spirit in my inner being.” Father, You own the cattle on a thousand hills, the earth and everything in it is Yours. And not just Your right of Sovereignty over all things, but the richness of Your character allows You to pour over me all that I might ever need.

Father, would You strengthen me:

physically – give me Your healing in all the areas of my body where there is illness or weakness.   Increase my strength and stamina to be able to do the work You set before me;

mentally – when I need to focus, or clear my mind of distracting thoughts. Give me the ability and the diligence to take every thought captive to You, and to be alert to dangers around me. Do not let my thinking become muddled by the vain philosophies of man or the half-truths and lies of the evil one;

emotionally – give me relief from discouragement, sadness, fear, anger, guilt, anxiousness. Help me deal with my circumstances according to Your wisdom and not be led by my emotions;

spiritually –bolster my faith with the remembrance that no matter what – You are in control – that even if the fig tree does not blossom, no grapes appear on the vine, the olive crop fails and the fields produce no crops – I can still rejoice in You! And spiritual strength to recognize and combat the enemy, dressed in my spiritual armor.

Father, would You do this so that “You will dwell in my heart through faith”. Help me to “be rooted and established in love”. Lord, like a tree planted by the water, let my spiritual roots go down deep into the soil so I can draw deeply of Your love. You are love, so You are the true source of love that can strengthen and fill me. Father, help me understand Your love: “how wide and long and high and deep” it is. I ‘understand’ Your love in that I read about it. But Father, help me really know it, in my heart and in my spirit; not just in my head.

When I can fathom Your love, I will have wisdom that surpasses knowledge. And I will be “filled to the measure of all the fullness of You.”

Thank You that “You are able to do immeasurably more that I can ask or even imagine, according to Your power that is at work in me.” I give You all the glory and praise, for ever and ever. Amen

Ephesians 3:16-21